It's absurd to call the production-driven Viktor & Rolf show today at Paris fashion week low key, but compared to Horsting and Snoeren's recent spectacles featuring 40ft chanteuse and Kristen McMenamy wearing 27 looks at once, this was on the demure side.

A white path snaked its way towards a full moon glowing above the catwalk while dark figures in scarecrow poses moved by conveyor belt beneath it. The pack of photographers did a couple of rounds at howling to drive home the message while Katy Perry - suitably Halloweenish in a blue beehive - looked on.

The initial looks were dramatic in their simplicity. A fur-effect bronze print on silk jumpsuits with origami fold details showed that the designers talents are strongest without the use of gimmicks and tricks. Silver silk shirts with long cape backs and a dove grey tunic dress were Halston-like in their fluidity.

But the temptation for showmanship crept in with heavily fringed and ruffled evening dresses, inch-long crystal spikes covering shoulders and an obscene amount of fur.

Karlie Kloss closed the show, mesmerising Katy Perry in the process, Perry - like us - hypnotised by her wiggle.

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